To Break A Man A MaruShion OneShot
by ExanimatusEtCruentus
Summary: Marluxia is away on a perilous mission. Zexion and Vexen are shut down in the lab, waiting for his return. Zexion is already driven to the edge waiting for Marluxia, what would happen if the worst came to the worst? Can Nobodies really be broken?


**To Break A Man - MaruShion OneShot.**

INSPIRED BY THE SONG 'Savin' Me - Nickelback'

Tension. The room Zexion sat in was choking, thick with it. Marluxia could cleave it in two with his extravagant scythe.

If he were here.

"Six?" a cool voice cut into Zexion, his thoughts shying away. The Nobody sat across from Zexion was idly lacing his fingers together. Perhaps in irritation.

Ice-blonde strands brushed the table when Vexen leaned closer to the troubled other. Facets of intellect glittered in the emerald eyes that were surveying Zexion, taking in the image of slate hair obscuring a porcelain face marred with… worry?

The slate-haired Nobody was gripping the edges of the lab desk so hard he could see the neat grooves carved into the bone of his knuckles. Grotesquely, they strained at the translucent skin, threatening to break the smooth surface.

Zexion gave his head a small shake, dislodging his errant train of thought, causing it to be plunged down into oblivion. Down…down…down…

"Zexion?" Vexen's eyebrows furrowed, glaring at the unresponsive Nobody.

"Yes?"

Zexion's tone was colourless, inane. The monosyllabic reply from the one who was the very master of vocabulary, stunned Vexen into silence. To fetter the Schemer with words was a near-impossible feat. Yet here he was, completely silent, awaiting the blonde's question. Slightly perturbed, Vexen continued.

"What has thrown you into this incurable stupor? I can see… _something_, in your eyes, Six. I do not have a clue as to how to describe it. I fear it may not be something I would… understand."

Hearing the strain in Vexen's voice, intrigued, Zexion raised his anxious gaze from the table. Vexen almost flinched.

The somewhat penetrating eyes of the other Nobody skewering him through the cavity where, if he were a Somebody, would be filled in with a heart, was less than reassuring.

After a slight sigh, Vexen came to the conclusion that he wouldn't be getting a response. He rose awkwardly from the table, pressing his palms to the matte white surface as he did.

" Well…" he trailed off, simply turning to face the wall.

" I know very well that we have not been given any instruction to do so, due to Marluxia's absence, but should we continue to work as normal?"

Vexen tensed, his probing Zexion may not have the desired effect, may cause the already unresponsive Nobody to sink further into his almost… _emotive_ state. At least he wasn't facing the lifeless blue chasms that he could feel etching intricate designs on his rigid spine.

"Why are you…?" Vexen couldn't seem to find the words. He lacked the emotion to back them anyway.

Suddenly, a swirling purple-black shadow erupted out of thin air, contained within it was a willowy figure who stepped coolly out into the dank basement.

"Vexen, Zexion" the redhead greeted each in turn, his glittering green eyes resting a little longer on the latter, who sat hunched over the lab desk, not deigning to acknowledge the new arrival.

"Axel." Vexen exclaimed, "What has brought you down here?"

He was irritably aware of the way he seemed only to ask questions, none of which had recently yielded any answers.

Axel raised a hand absentmindedly, to ruffle his mane of crimson spikes.

"Saix sent me here. I came to report the termination of Number Eleven, Marluxia."

Zexion's head snapped upright, at the same time he leapt in an ungainly manner from his chair, kicking it under the desk.

Vexen, startled, backed into the wall behind him in his haste. At the look on Zexion's face, he half-raised his arms to protect himself.

"Where have you heard that?" Zexion demanded, throwing himself at Axel, who stumbled backwards. Zexion clutched at the front of his cloak desperately.

Abruptly, Axel was holding his chakrams, he held one threateningly to Zexion's neck.

Vexen was already brandishing his shield.

The flailing slate-haired Nobody released Axel, shuddering, his face betraying his despair.

"W-What? What do you mean? Saix told me-" Axel tried to convey some reason into the situation, of which he was entirely unsure how to deal with.

Zexion clutched his Lexicon like the last buoy in his personal ocean of dolour. He tried to twist them, break Axel, break Vexen, like twigs in the eye of a raging hurricane. He longed to hear them cry out in agony, their pitiful screams as they were consumed by crippling emotions, would be beautiful music to Zexion's ears.

He caught sight of his deranged reflection in Vexen's wall of flasks and test-tubes.

He fell to the floor on his knees, pressing his twitching hands as hard as he could into his features to mask his impossible display of emotion. It was far too late.

"Vexen… We should report back to Saix, or the Superior." Axel failed to keep the slight tremor out of his voice, his gaze flitted to the spot where Zexion lay, broken.

Though Vexen and Axel were not particularly on civil terms, somewhat the opposite, the bizarre situation caused Vexen to unwittingly grasp Axel's waiting arm and they vanished into the swirling shadow.

Zexion lay on the ground, his fingers still tightly clamped over his face, which was surely destroyed by the potent surge of emotion that hacked at him, disfiguring his useless body.

Silence rang silver, gossamer threads of insanity threaded around the Nobody, light encircled him, prying at his face to show it's forbidden secrets, until he released one, impossible, tear.

-Show me what it's like to be the last one standing, teach me wrong from right, and I'll show you what I can be, say it for me, say it to me, and I'll leave this life behind me, say it if it's worth saving me-

- And all I need is you, come please, I'm calling, Oh I scream for you, hurry, I'm falling, I'm falling-


End file.
